The Errant Venture
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Scum and Villainy The Errant Venture has the distinction of being the only Star Destroyer ever owned by entirely private interests, with no affiliation to any government. Originally commissioned as The Virulence, an ''Imperial II''-Class Star Destroyer, the ship saw service at the Battle of Endor and the Battle of Thyferra. There the ship was surrendered, undamaged, to Booster Terrik. Terrik, never a timid man, decided the price of his help in capturing the vessel was the ship itself. Although The New Republic was uneasy with the idea, in the end a deal was struck that removed most of the ship's armament (Netting Terrik a cool 18 million credits), and the hull was painted red to make it distinctively different from other Star Destroyers. From that point on, The Errant Venture was a mobile shadowport and one of the best-defended places to acquire a bit of data or gear without legal complications. Terrik enjoyed the prestige that came with the ship, and he played on the fact that it was once an Imperial warship. For example, The Errant Venture's crew wears variants of Imperial uniforms, in Corellian green-and-gold colors. Although many feel this is in poor taste, others suspect Terrik did it because the manufacturing plant in the ship already had the patterns for those uniforms programmed into it, and changing the color of cloth fed into it was cheaper than having new uniforms designed or imported. Indeed, money quickly became an issue for Terrik. His smuggling organization was never the size of Black Sun or Talon Karrde's operation, which might have been able to maintain a full-size space cruiser. Terrik was strained to the limit of his resources to maintain even a down-gunned Star Destroyer, and he was always looking for ways to make it profitable. This ranged from highly secure smuggling runs to renting out space on the hull for advertisements. Although many New Republic officials assumed the ship would be an embarrassment for only a few years before Terrik had to have it scrapped or sold, in truth he managed to keep it running through the end of the Civil War, the "Return" of Thrawn, the Yuuzhan Vong Invasions, and the Second Corellian Insurrection. It even became the home of the Jedi Academy, due in large part to personal connections between Terrik and his son-in-law, Corran Horn. Although the ship was "Officially" limited to just a few heavy weapons for most of this time (Represented below) Booster Terrik likely had weapons either reinstalled or replaced on more than one occasion. Although Terrik isn't talking, some observers have noticed that every time The New Republic decided it needed the ship to be rearmed for an operation, it took surprisingly little time to accomplish. (Even when only a few weapons were active, The Errant Venture always tracked all its targeting sensors on any potential enemy.) Though its core layout remains that of an Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer, The Errant Venture is constantly being refurbished and redesigned. It turns out that if you don't try to maintain bays for 20 AT-ATs, the barges to land them, and the ground forces to support them, you have considerable room for remodeling. Booster Terrik claims to have a fore-to-aft refit planned for the ship "In his head," but observers assume he does whatever he can afford to, whenever he has the time; even so, the change of the ship from purely military to largely mercantile is noticeable. The lowest levels of The Errant Venture are referred to as The Mines, and are restricted to passengers coming and going on large ships and the ship's crew. It includes the docking bays designed to capture enemy ships, all of which still function well enough. The largest of these, Docking Bay 15, is the central docking area and can house multiple ships in excess of 150 meters. This is the normal home of Terrik's freighter, The Pulsar Skate, when it isn't on independent missions. Docking Bay 15 is also sometimes used as a mobile repair base, able to fix major damage to ships as large as Corellian Gunships, no questions asked- if the captain has the credits, of course. Black Level is just above The Mines, and is the lowest of the three passenger areas of the ship (As well as being the least interesting or comfortable). It's largely holds, stripped passenger cabins (With little more than a light and a bunk), and empty spaces that can, with effort, be turned into workshops or similar industrial spaces. The Black Level is for those who want to hop safe passage aboard The Errant Venture (Which is, after all, unlikely to fall prey to pirates or bounty hunters) but can't afford better accommodations. Sales of anything but food are forbidden on Black Level without Terrik's special permission, and the area is regularly patrolled by the ship's security forces (Who have their own- much nicer- room block in the center of Black Level, Block 1138 Sable). Of course, some shadow shops are set up with Terrik's clandestine permission, places where business is done that even Terrik isn't willing to have out in the open. Terrik keeps claiming he's going to remodel Black Level, but never finds the time or credits to do so. Above Black Level is the Blue Level, which hosts mildly respectable guests and acts as a base of operations for a number of up-and-coming smugglers, bounty hunters, pilots, traders, and mercenaries. It is also the location of the majority of the ship's docking slots, smaller docking areas for shuttles and small freighters to enter or clamp to the ship. Although Blue Level can become a bit rowdy (The ship's security forces don't intervene in fist fights, but anything involving a blaster, vibroweapon, or lightsaber is stopped quickly and with little regard for who started it), it also includes two particularly interesting sections. The first is a massive six-deck courtyard (Linking Blue Level to the Diamond Level above) that includes a three-deck high holodiorama of the Battle of Thyferra (Focusing on the attack on The Errant Venture, still named The Virulence, under the command of Booster Terrik). Although the massive holopicture might be of questionable historical accuracy, it is accepted as one of the greatest pieces of wartime art in the post-Civil War galaxy. Also on Blue Level is Trader's Alley, a massive cash-or-barter-only gray market bazaar. Few permanent stores are in Trader's Alley, and most of those are secretly owned by Terrik or his friends and allies. The constantly changing collection- broken-down War Droids, captured Imperial weapons, illegal drugs and spices, semilegal shipping contracts, unique examples of planetary art from a hundred systems, and rewired data pads that can act as anything from explosives to cheaters- provides one of the greatest free markets in the galaxy. In part this is because Booster knows how to keep trade hopping, and in part it's because even the most paranoid trader feels safe in the belly of a Star Destroyer, no matter how stripped down. All items in Trader's Alley are treated as one step less restricted than normal when determining Black Market cost: Illegal items are Military, Military items are Restricted, and so on. Additionally, it never takes more than one day to find if such items are available in Trader's Alley, no matter how restricted they are. From the Blue Level courtyard, it is easy to access Diamond Level, where ships' officers, valued guests, friends and family, and the wealthiest travelers stay. Diamond Level has been completely ripped out and reappointed in luxury styling. (Booster originally planned such an upgrade for the whole ship, but it proved prohibitively expensive). This area is where extended family and close friends stay (Although immediate family stay in officer's quarters in the command section). It is replete with dining halls, entertainment venues, conference rooms, and recreational facilities. Some extremely rich civilians- and a few minor crime bosses posing as such- pay a hefty rent to live safely in the Diamond Level full time. When the Jedi Academy was moved onboard, it was also placed in this area. Diamond Level is never more than a quarter full, and Terrik continues to advertise it as a unique travel and living opportunity. The Errant Venture Statistics (CL 19) Colossal (Cruiser) Capital Ship Initiative: +0; Senses: Perception +8 Defense Reflex Defense: 18 (Flat-Footed 16), Fortitude Defense: 56; +16 Armor, Vehicular Combat Hit Points: 2,000; Damage Reduction: 20; Shield Rating 120; Damage Threshold: 256 Offense Speed: Fly 3 Squares (Starship Scale) Ranged: Heavy Turbolaser, Battery +13* (See Below) Ranged: Turbolaser, Battery +13* (See Below) Ranged: Laser Cannon, Point-Defense, Batteries (2) +17 (See Below) Ranged: Heavy Ion Cannon, Batteries (2) +13* (See Below) Ranged: Tractor Beams (2) +9* (See Below) Fighting Space: 2x2 Squares (Starship Scale); Total Cover Base Attack Bonus: +5; Grapple: +71 Attack Options: Focused Fire (2x2 Squares) *Apply a -20 penalty on attacks against targets smaller than Colossal size. Abilities Strength: 103, Dexterity: 14, Constitution: -, Intelligence: 18 Skills: Initiative +0, Mechanics +8, Perception +8, Pilot +0, Use Computer +8 Ship Statistics Crew: 12,000 (Expert Crew Quality); Passengers: 30,000 Cargo: 50,000 Tons; Consumables: 3 Years; Carried Craft: 144 Starfighters, 2 Colossal (Frigate) Capital Ships Hyperdrive: Class 2 (Backup Class 12), Navicomputer Availability: Unique; Cost: Not available for sale (Black Market value 50 million Used) Weapon Systems Heavy Turbolaser, Battery (3 Gunners) Attack Bonus: +13 (-7 against targets smaller than Colossal size), Damage: 11d10x5 Turbolaser, Battery (3 Gunners) Attack Bonus: +13 (-7 against targets smaller than Colossal size), Damage: 8d10x5 Laser Cannon, Point-Defense, Battery (5 Gunners) Attack Bonus: +17, Damage: 3d10x2 Heavy Ion Cannon, Battery (3 Gunners) Attack Bonus: +13 (-7 against targets smaller than Colossal size), Damage: 3d10x5 (Ion) Tractor Beam (Gunner) Attack Bonus: +9 (-11 against targets smaller than Colossal size), Damage: - (Grapple +71) Category:Vehicles Category:Starships Category:Capital Ships